October 21, 2015
NMCC claims first district volleyball championship in 25 years
"It feels freaking awesome. It's been way too long since they walked away with that plaque that says first place."
By Chris Pobst - Standard Democrat
sports@standard-democrat.com
MALDEN -- There's a lot to be said about simply being aggressive.
First-year head coach Whitney Gorton knew that's what it would take to knock off top-seeded Malden and being the aggressor is what brought New Madrid County Central its first district championship in 25 years.
Third-seeded NMCC upset Malden in two sets, 25-18, 25-18 on Tuesday during the Class 2, District 1 championship match at Malden High School. This is New Madrid County Central's second district title in school history.
This is also Gorton's first season as NMCC's volleyball coach after spending the last two years at Bell City High School.
"It feels freaking awesome," said Gorton, who is a 2008 graduate of NMCC. "It's been way too long since they walked away with that plaque that says first place."
NMCC (21-12-3) had to go through both Malden and the tournament's reigning champion, Portageville, to claim its first district championship since 1990. They defeated Portageville in three sets and Gorton had a simple message for her team when facing the district's top seed.
"Every time we came to the huddle I told them, 'aggressive is going to win this game,'" Gorton said. "I see the way (Malden) is not moving back there. As long as we hit the ball hard they were going to shank it or going to have to make it have to be a free ball or something. Stay aggressive. The little tips just weren't working. Hit the ball."
Fierce play on the front row led NMCC's charge. Gabrielle Gilmore, Allison Gilmer and Alyssa Caines controlled the match from around the net, especially Gilmore, who had seven kills.
"They have been aggressive all year long," Gorton said about her front row. "Gabby (Gilmore) is a senior and I hate to lose her next year, but she has been aggressive and our go-to girl all year long."
Gilmore was also a constant with blocks forcing Malden (21-9) to hit around her.
"She's got a lot better at timing the ball," Gorton said. "When its coming down and finding it when its right at the tape. I'm really proud of her. She played her butt off. This is probably the most blocks she's had in a game."
If NMCC was the aggressor, Malden was the exact opposite.
The tournament's top seed looked lifeless throughout the match prompting timeouts from head coach Amber Hixson. It wasn't the type of performance needed to clinch its first district title in school history after making their third district championship appearance the last four years.
"I have no idea," Hixson said. "I'd love to know what happened. We haven't played like that all year. That was a mental breakdown."
Malden defeated Senath-Hornersville in two sets, 25-13, 25-15, earlier that night in the other semifinal. Possibly sitting through NMCC's three-set win over Portageville had something to do with Malden's lackluster effort.
"In their minds, I think they thought it was going to be an easier game," said Hixson. "It was not characteristic of some of our players. We tipped a lot and (NMCC) hit a lot of tape. Our girls were not adjusting."
NMCC took full advantage of Malden's timid play by never trailing in either set and grabbing an early 6-1 advantage. The closest Malden could trim that first-set lead was to three until NMCC pulled away at 19-16. Back to back kills from Caines aided in NMCC's first seven-point win.
"They got the momentum," Hixson said. "(Our team) knew they were going to be here. Play like it."
The Lady Eagles built a 12-6 lead in the second set, which eventually grew to a safe 21-12 advantage. Shelbie Karafa gave NMCC a 23-13 lead until Gilmore punched in her final kill of the night sending NMCC players and fans into a frenzy.
"They were in position for attacks," Gorton said. "Normally, we actually do better at digging the ball instead of running up for tips. We did a great job of doing that tonight. That's normally our fault, not picking up the tips and we did that tonight. It won us the game. Keeping the ball in play."
To first have a chance to play for a title, NMCC had to stave off a pesky Portageville team, who were fighting for its third straight district championship in as many years. The Lady Eagles suffered regular season losses to both Portageville and Malden.
"Portageville's been our biggest rival every since the brink of dawn, so it's always good to beat them," Gorton said. "They beat us in season and it was just devastation. Malden beat us in season too. To beat both of them in one night is freaking sweet. Absolutely."
NMCC defeated Portageville 25-17, 21-25 and 25-22, but not before Portageville shook off a first set loss and pushed NMCC to the brink in the third set.
The Lady Eagles conjured up a 13-3 lead at one point in the third set, but Portageville pulled within 23-22 before its district reign ended.
"A lot of teams would have shut down with that big deficit," Portageville coach Barry Branscum said. "We had chances to tie. There's no quit in them and we made a match of it. We got ourselves in a hole and you can't make mistakes after that."
NMCC moves on to the Class 2 sectional where they will face Class 2, District 2 winners Bloomfield on Saturday at Bloomfield High School.
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